NEW DELHI: Lionel Messi wasted no time and got straight to work with his new Inter Miami teammates in Florida on Tuesday, participating in his first full training session with the Major League Soccer club.
Despite the scorching temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), the Argentine World Cup winner joined his former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets, who had signed for Miami a few days earlier, in a warm welcome from the team.
The players formed a tunnel, and Messi and Busquets ran through it, receiving applause and friendly slaps on the back from their new teammates.
Throughout the session, Messi engaged in conversation with Venezuelan international Josef Martinez, who is likely to be his strike partner at Miami.
Over 200 media representatives were in attendance, a significant increase compared to Miami's previous training sessions.
Messi had been officially introduced to the club's supporters at a celebratory event on Sunday, alongside Miami co-owner David Beckham. His first game for the team is scheduled for Friday.
Miami, currently ranked last in the 29-team MLS, will face Mexican club Cruz Azul in the opening match of the Leagues Cup, a tournament featuring all top-flight teams from MLS and Mexico's Liga MX.
It remains uncertain whether Messi will start the game or make a cameo appearance from the substitute's bench.
His coach, fellow Argentine Gerardo 'Tata' Martino, has asked for patience as the 36-year-old gradually builds up his fitness.
Following an 11-game winless streak, Martino has left open the possibility that Messi might not be fully ready to play just yet.
"We look to the future with hope (given) that the best player in the world will play for our team, but also with the patience that we have to have so that he can get in good physical shape and can play at the right moment," he said.
Messi played his last competitive game for Paris Saint-Germain in the French league on June 4 and then turned out for Argentina against Australia in a friendly in Beijing on June 15, scoring after just 79 seconds in a 2-0 win.
Unlike in most of Europe, MLS's season runs from late February to the end of October, followed by the playoffs and the championship game, MLS Cup, on December 9.
Despite sitting rock bottom of the Eastern Conference with the worst recording in the league, Miami are not mathematically ruled out of contention for the playoffs but it would take a huge impact from the seven-times Ballon d'Or winner to turn their season around.
Messi is the biggest star to join an American club since Brazilian legend Pele moved to the New York Cosmos in 1975.
MLS hope that his presence will massively boost interest in the league, which features clubs from the USA and Canada, and generate fresh revenue for their broadcast deal with Apple TV.
MLS's 10-year deal with Apple TV, worth a reported $2.5 billion, will allow fans in 107 countries to watch Messi in action via a subscription.
On Sunday, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said the league, which is already broadcast in Spanish and with some games in French, was considering introducing other languages to broaden the appeal of the broadcasts and cash in on interest in Messi.
"I think you'll see more and more multiple languages on Apple. That's the uniqueness of the technology. We're looking at launching other languages as early as next year," he said.
"I think there will be more opportunity for us to be very, very targeted to specific audiences," he said.
(With AFP inputs)
